Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1887-01-29
LEONE LOCAL CHAT.

held and are being still continued in
this and neighboring towns, when
the fact of there being special inter.
cession and prayer ever made for
young men, and no hint of any solici.
tude manifested for the welfare of
young women, was commented
upon. The theories given and ideas
advanced will bear repetition. The
p-ettiest girl in the caucus started
after the subject like this, at strikes
me that in the general lookout for
souls the girls are neglected?" Are
those of the male persuasion of more
value ?" :" And if so, why so? Our
young men are preached at and pray
ed for, the solicitude of pulpit and
pew, sermon and prayer go out after
them with appeals SO strong and
urgent, SO tender and SO compassion
ate that even dead soul must rouse,
and listen, and heed" with terri
BILE distinctness is pointed out the
wrong paths, the snare-covered high
ways of life, set for masculine feet,
yet where did ever they walk that
there was not the responsive echo of
a lighter tread?" Together; who
shall decide who followed, or who it
was that led?" "Oh come" said I,
"let's hear from another quarter Sec
ton of grievance, and when the babel
of voices somewhat subsidized, some
body was saying, sob yes, they are
the stronger sex, yet the weaker are
supposed, upon general principles, /
guess,-I see no other principle in
tito be able to take care of them
selves and any quantity of brethren
into the bargain; their dainty tender
feet are supposed to walk over temp
tation and snares as safely as Christ
walked over the waters; it is only
the Peters who cry for assistance or
who need it," Then in refutal of this
came the generous reply, s,Why so,
you should but feel complimented for
yourself and for all our sex; since
they come not to call the righteous
but sinners to repentance ;" and so
they went on and became so earnest
in the matter that things began to
look as if little praying for wouldn't
hurt any of the coterie just then, and
some one interposed with the sugges-
ton, that those who thought they
needed praying for should hand in
their names, and would you believe
it, after all their discussion there
was not single name submitted, and
the discussion closed by their all
starting off to the afternoon prayer
meeting in the most amicable mood.
Such are-girls.
Apropos of all this; did you ever
think what an infinite variety of
study there is in the life of a woman,
and how very seldom they are inter
preted correctly? Now there was
Thomas Carlyle who said, 81 have
never doubted but the true and noble
function of woman in the world,
was, and is, and forever will be, that
of being wife and help-meet, and
discharging well the duties that fall
on her in consequence" 4 \ "The
true destiny of woman therefore, is
to wed man whom she can love and
esteem, and to lead noiselessly under
his protection. with all grace and
wisdom and heroism that is in her,
the life prescribed in consequence"
There's no fault in the world to be
found with that theory, indeed it
sounds remarkably in tune with the
life of the author of Sartor Resartus.
A man who was the quintescence of
grabbed humanity; whose James "
life was one of unrequited bondage,
spent in pampering and cheering and
consoling and petting, until l think
in my heart all that was generous
and honorable in her nature. must
have recoiled in disgust from the
pettiness and pettishness of his. /
can imagine what wisdom, what
grace, what heroism must have
been in her to be able to live out the
life prescribed in consequence of her
being married to him. Where is the
man who would have had the "grace
or the heroism " to have lived up to,
or even to have lived out such con-
tract I? "The charming helplessness
theory" is very we'll in its way, and
it generally answers the purpose for
which it was intended, and otter goes
a considerable distance beyond it,
Mrs. Henton, in the Courier-Journal,
very sensibly says, "When woman
is married God has given her her
work, and except in unusual cases,
here sphere is at home, but under
other circumstances, the point is to
educate and make self supporting the
daughters as well as the sons. The
really refined aud womanly woman
will lose nothing, no matter what her
surroundings. 1t is an old and well
worn story, that gentlemen make
the best soldiers :" the bravest heart
| is ever the most generous, and wo-
men should be trained so as to best
fit them for whatever life may de-
mand. They make better daughters,
wives, mothers, because of developed
faculties; that few succeed when
obliged to labor, is due to the fact
that they take up almost any pursuit
as makeshift until something else,-
possible rich husband being the
main object generally, renders work